VPN leak testing
Checking IP, DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC behavior so readers can tell whether a VPN is actually protecting traffic.
Author profile for DoVPN
Steve Price
Independent VPN researcher and privacy writer
Computer science background, 20+ years in IT and networking, and a practical focus on VPN leak testing, kill switch reliability, safer public Wi-Fi, online banking safety, and privacy-focused troubleshooting.
20+ years in IT and networking
Computer science background
VPN leak and kill switch testing
Public Wi-Fi and banking safety
Experience
Technical privacy writing built from real network work.
Steve Price is an independent VPN researcher and privacy writer with a computer science background and more than 20 years of experience in IT and networking. He has spent much of that time debugging systems, reverse engineering behavior, and tracing how applications and network traffic work in real-world conditions.
His work focuses on VPN security, leak testing, kill switch reliability, and the privacy limits of consumer VPNs. He writes about IP, DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks; safer use of public Wi-Fi; online banking over untrusted networks; and how browsers, operating systems, and VPN clients interact under failure conditions.
His approach is practical and test-driven: verify claims, reproduce issues, inspect network behavior, and document what users can check for themselves.
Focus
What Steve researches.
Kill switch reliability
Looking at what happens when VPN tunnels fail, networks change, or apps restart under imperfect conditions.
Practical privacy guidance
Translating technical behavior into clear, realistic advice for public Wi-Fi, online banking, and everyday browsing.
Provider claim verification
Separating marketing language from reproducible checks, documented trade-offs, and user-visible evidence.
Editorial standards
Clear guidance, testable claims.
For DoVPN, Steve focuses on the parts of VPN use where trust can be inspected: leak behavior, failure modes, privacy trade-offs, and realistic user safety.
- Verify claims with repeatable checks whenever possible.
- Explain limitations clearly instead of overstating privacy guarantees.
- Prioritize safety, reliability, and user trust over provider marketing.
- Keep guidance practical enough for readers to test on their own devices.
Latest publication
Recent DoVPN writing.
UK Online Safety
UK Online Safety Act age checks: privacy and VPN risks explained
The UK's Online Safety Act age-check duties are now being enforced. We explain what Ofcom requires, why VPNs entered the debate and what privacy risks remain.
AI Agent Security
OpenClaw security risks: RCE, exposed gateways and malicious skills
OpenClaw's rapid adoption brought critical gateway risk, exposed instances and malicious ClawHub skills. We explain how self-hosters should lock down privileged AI agents.
VPN Server Seizure
Dutch authorities seized a Windscribe VPN server – what this really means for your privacy
Dutch police physically seized one of Windscribe's VPN servers in the Netherlands. We analyze what happened, how RAM-only and no-logs designs hold up under real police action, and what past Dutch raids tell us about VPN privacy.
Vega OS & Fire TV
Vega OS VPN guide: how to use NordVPN and IPVanish on Fire TV Stick 4K Select
Amazon's Vega OS VPN support is live on Fire TV Stick 4K Select. This guide covers setup, privacy limits, streaming fixes and what to do if your preferred VPN is not available yet.
Vega OS & Fire TV
Vega OS VPN now live: NordVPN and IPVanish are fully functional on Fire TV Stick 4K Select
Amazon's late-November update enabled VPN on Vega OS. NordVPN and IPVanish apps now work on Fire TV Stick 4K Select; here's what changed and how to install.
EU mass surveillance push
EU Chat Control is back: How mass scanning laws threaten VPNs, encryption and your private messages
The EU's Child Sexual Abuse Regulation ("Chat Control") and the new ProtectEU roadmap could normalize client-side scanning, weaken end-to-end encryption, and pressure VPNs to log users. We unpack what this means for European VPN users and anyone who cares about digital privacy.